The invention relates to a scanning device for a chip card. A lever arm pivotably journalled on the side of the device carries a set of contacts and can be pivoted towards a chip card inserted into the scanning device to occupy an operating position, the set of contacts contacting contacts provided on the chip card. Such a contacting of the chip card is required to permit of making operative and evaluating, respectively, the integrated circuit which is contained in the chip card and may comprise, for example, one or more memories and a processor. Such chip cards are used, for example, in bank intercourse, in trading for payment purposes, for identification of persons entitled to carry out specific transactions, and the like. In a scanning device known from European Patent Application No. 0 235 022 of the kind mentioned in the opening paragraph, a cam disk cooperating with the level arm is provided for pivoting the lever arm carrying the set of contacts towards the operating position of a chip card and away from this position, respectively, which cam disk can be driven by means of a gear from a motor. When using such a motor control, the construction of the scanning device becomes comparatively complicated and comparatively bulky, however. On the contrary, scanning devices are also known, in which in dependence upon the insertion into such a device and the removal therefrom, respectively, the contacting of the chip card is controlled. For example, German Patent Application No. 3602668 shows a scanning device, in which upon insertion of a chip card into this device a card pick-up device journalled so as to be moveble in a reciprocating manner is displaced from the chip card, a contact carrier being brought into contact with the contacts of the chip card either by a lowering of the contact carrier onto the chip card controlled through cam tracks or by a lifting of the contact region of the chip card towards the contact carrier controlled by means of a leading ramp. The chip card is then held in its operating position through a snapping device cooperating with the card pick-up device and is slid again out of its operating position from the scanning device by releasing the snapping device. In another embodiment of a scanning device indicated in German Patent No. 2952442, upon insertion of a chip card into this device from the chip card a displaceably and pivotably journalled contact carrier is displaced towards the chip card, no separate device for removing the chip card from the scanning device being provided, but the chip card being pulled by hand out of the scanning device and the contact carrier being again displaced in a direction away from the chip card. In such contact devices controlled from a chip card, it has appeared that either damage of the chip card or of the contact carrier can occur if, for example, an excessively great force is exerted by hand on the chip card or that no perfect contacting of the chip card is obtained because the contact carrier is not displaced sufficiently accurately.